So unplug the jukebox...

Having used the word ‘entomologist’ in my last posting, I am proud to utilise ‘entomology’ this evening. I refer, of course, to the long playing album Entomology by Josef K that I have been spinning tonight. It’s a quirky little number, a sumptuous compilation of leftfield pop gems that makes one murmur, ‘So that is where Franz Ferdinand got their ideas from…’ Josef K famously committed career suicide by aborting their debut album Sorry For Laughing which stayed unreleased until 1990 but six blistering songs from it are found here along with six more from the ‘follow-up’, The Only Fun In Town and three from a 1981 John Peel session. The highlights of this collection, for me, are the four remarkable Postcard 7” singles, the electrifying Radio Drill Time, the poignant It’s Kinda Funny, the insouciant Sorry for Laughing and, my favourite, the jangly, plaintive and enormously uplifting Chance Meeting. The album is beautifully packaged in an eye-catching cardboard cover and the sleeve notes, worth a read depending if you are in the mood, are written by a deliriously over-the-top Paul Morley in the form of his life. I’m slightly cross that this bunch weren’t my favourite group at the time but I’m happy to make their acquaintance now. Hurrah.